Crimean-born pianist Ilona Timchenko is recognized internationally as an artist of great poetry, depth, and power. Her studies at the Moscow Conservatory with E. Richter, the Prince Claus Conservatoire with A.Gold, and at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in the Hague with Rian de Waal have inspired her brand of Russian tradition with European sensibilities. In search of a French perspective, she continued her studies with Michel Beroff in Paris at the same time travelled to Florence to learn from the legendary pianist of the 20th Century Lazar Berman. She was also privileged to meet and develop special relationships with such legends as Albert Lehman (composer and protégé of D.Shostakovich), S.Gubaidulina (composer), M.Lubotsky (violinist), and A.Garcia Abril (composer). Ilona’s musical curiosity has lead her develop a large breadth of experience and repertoire spanning from the Baroque to the present day.

Blessed with phenomenal technique and sensuous expression, she has dazzled audiences on some of the world’s most important stages such as Wigmore Hall, Philips Hall in Holland, the Vienna Musikverein, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Madrid’s Monumental Theatre, Oriental Arts Centre in Shanghai, Megaron Hall (Atenas), Palatului Hall (Bucharest) among many others.

Ilona is the recipient of many prizes and honours, including Enesco Competition in Bucharest, Beethoven Competition in Vienna, the Liszt Competition in Utrecht and the Maria Callas Grand Prix in Athens as well as many others. She has performed as a soloist with leading orchestras such as Saint Petersburg Academic Capella Orchestra, Holland Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, North Holland Orchestra, Royal Flanders Philharmonic, Granada Symphony Orchestra, Royal Galician Philharmonic and Orquesta of the Romanian Radio, RTVE Orquestra, the New Music Chamber Orchestra and more.

Ilona Timchenko enjoys a versatile musical life, playing solo recitals, appearing as a soloist with orchestras, and forming all kinds of chamber music combinations with instrumentalists and singers. Ilona is a passionate chamber musician and has been a member of the critically-acclaimed Metamorphoses trio since 2016, the CD released with this ensemble in 2018 gained unanimous high praise in publications all around the world.

Ilona’s CD recordings have received some of the highest acclaim by critics. Ilona recorded her first CD with Landor Records performing works by Brahms and Schumann and it was selected for the inaugural International Record Review magazine in the ‘Outstanding’ accolades category. Her recordings have received rave reviews in Gramophone Magazine and BBC Music Magazine. In 2010 Ilona recorded the piano music of one of the leading Spanish composers of our days – Anton Garcia Abríl. The set of two CDs was released in September of 2012 and ranked as “excellent” in the magazine “Ritmo”.

Never one to shy away from difficulty, Timchenko became the first pianist to make a public performance of the complete 24 Preludes and Fugues of Shostakovich in Italy. During the pandemic, she was offered a “journey” with a series of concerts with Anne de Pelegrinage of Liszt. Ilona is a staunch defender of contemporary music and has premiered many works by contemporary composers, many which were dedicated to her. Many such recordings of premieres are stored in the archives of the Moscow State Conservatory. Ilona is invited yearly as professor at the annual Aurora Summer Academy and Festival in the Netherlands. She is the founder and Artistic Director of the Association Peregrinos Musicales, which organises masterclasses, a concert series, and and International Festival in Galicia “Peregrinos Musicales” taking place in Santiago de Compostela.

At present she combines the position of a Head of the Piano Department in CSM de Galicia with a professorship at the Forum Musicae in Madrid.